DONNA MURDOCH

Writing a Student Evaluation Can Be Like Trolling the Internet – Anonymity in Course Evaluations?

In participatory culture, this type of debate is ongoing. Anonymity? Or is there more responsibility if people own their names? Amazon has eliminated the ability to comment anonymously. And though there are many great reasons for people to be able to post anonymously (past comment on article “We Need Online Alter Egos More Than Ever”) the Atlantic asks us if it is fair when students fill out course reviews without ownership. They make the analogy of trolling the internet. “The rise of the Internet has meant that people are no longer passive readers—as the journalism professor, Jay Rosen, put it, they are the “people formerly known as the audience.” They are active participants in the creation and dissemination of the information they consume.”